[ Act No. 2282, September 01, 1913 ]
AN ACT GRANTING A FRANCHISE TO HERBERT C. HEALD TO CONSTRUCT OR ACQUIRE BY PURCHASE AND, FOR A PERIOD OF TWENTY YEARS, TO MAINTAIN AND OPERATE BY STEAM OR OTHER POWER AN AERIAL TRAMWAY FROM CAMP COLGANS NEAR KILOMETER TWENTY-FOUR ON THE BENGUET ROAD TO THE CITY OF BAGUIO, SUBPROVINCE OF BENGUET, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE, APPROXIMATELY A DISTANCE OF FIVE KILOMETERS.
By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Commission, that:
Section 1. Herbert C. Heald, a citizen of the United States, upon the terms and conditions hereinafter set out, is hereby authorized to construct or acquire by purchase and, for a period of twenty years after the passage of this Act, to maintain and operate by steam or other mechanical power an aerial tramway from Camp Colgans near kilometer twenty-four on the Benguet Road, to the city of Baguio, subprovince of Benguet, Mountain Province, including such stations, supporting towers, and passing places as may be necessary for the convenient operation of the aerial tramway.
Section 2. The aerial tramway shall be of the double rope system, with necessary stations for power and for receiving and discharging freight, and shall be constructed along a right of way selected by the grantee and approved by the Director of Public Works: Provided, however, That should it be necessary in the construction thereof, to occupy lands of private ownership, the same shall be occupied only after they have been legally acquired by the grantee.
Section 3. The tramway, including the stations, supporting towers, cables, cars, and other accessories, shall be so constructed as not to interfere with other traffic within the territory traversed by it. In case of dispute between the city authorities of Baguio and the grantee as to the location of the tramway and its supporting towers within the city limits, the matter shall be referred to the Director of Public Works for decision, whose decision, when approved by the-Governor-General, shall be final.
Section 4. The grantee shall begin the construction of the aerial tramway within thirty days after the acceptance in writing of the franchise and he shall fully complete the same and put it in operation for the public convenience for its entire length within six months from the date of said acceptance, and for failure to begin the work of construction or to complete the tramway and put the same operation for public convenience within the time prescribed the franchise shall be forfeited, and the grantee shall be subject to the liabilities hereinafter stated for such failure.
Section 5.(awÞhi( The tramway shall be constructed in accordance with plans to be presented by the grantee and approved by the Director of Public Works, and whenever it shall be necessary in the construction of supporting towers or buildings therefor to occupy any portion of a sidewalk, street, road, thoroughfare, or other public place the grantee shall, on completion of the structure, immediately remove all rubbish, sand, earth, or other material left over from such construction, and shall leave such sidewalk, street, road, thoroughfare, or other public place as nearly in its original shape and condition as the structure will permit. In the construction of such towers or buildings along the Benguet Road, the grantee shall use the utmost precaution and shall do nothing to endanger traffic thereon. He shall, if so required by the Director of Public Works or his duly authorized representative, during the construction of such towers have guards stationed along said road to give timely .warning to approaching persons, or vehicles, thereon, and in the event of slides or damage caused by such construction he shall immediately, at his own expense, remove the obstruction and place the road in its original condition.
Section 6. Whenever authority shall be granted by the city council of Baguio to remove any building, or to prosecute any municipal work with which the tramway may interfere, notice of such interference shall be duly served on the grantee and he shall, within forty-eight hours from receipt of the notice, raise or remove so much of the tramway as may be necessary to the free and uninterrupted prosecution of the work. Such notice shall be made only upon the adoption of a resolution to that effect by the city council, and shall be sufficient when same shall have been served on the grantee or his authorized representative. In case of refusal on the part of the grantee to comply with the notice, the mayor of the city, with the consent of the council, shall then refer the matter to the Director of Public Works for decision.
Section 7. The grantee shall be under a continuing obligation to keep in good repair the aerial tramway and its structures for the entire length of the system.
Section 8. The construction, operation, and maintenance of the aerial tramway system herein provided for shall be subject to the following terms, conditions, and limitations:
(a) The grantee shall file a petition describing the land he desires to obtain from the public domain, showing that same is not in use for any other public purpose, and is properly necessary for the enjoyment of the franchise to construct and maintain the aerial tramway herein described, and praying that the same be conveyed to him for the uses and purposes of said franchise. The petition shall be accompanied by a plat and survey of the land described in the petition. The Director of Public Works, after an examination of the petition and the plat and after taking evidence, if necessary, shall, if he finds that the land petitioned for is necessary and proper for the enjoyment of the franchise herein granted, approve the same. The Director of Public Works shall then forward the petition with his approval to the Director of Lands, who shall, after due investigation, determine whether the land sought is public land, and is not in use for any other public purpose, and shall certify his finding to the Governor-General, who if satisfied as to the propriety and legality of granting the petition shall grant to the owner of the franchise permission to occupy and use said land for the purpose of the franchise. The Government reserves the right, however, to grant any portion of the land so used to a third person, but such grant shall, in that event, be subject to the terms and conditions of the franchise.
(b) The permission to use the land shall be in writing and shall contain a clause providing for the reversion of the land so used to the Government of the Philippine Islands whenever it shall have ceased to be used for the purpose of the franchise.
(c) So long as the franchise shall remain in force no real or personal property of the tramway actually used and necessary for the purposes thereof shall be taxed by the Insular Government, or by any province or municipality.
(d) The grantee shall have the right to establish a lumber yard at ten-yard at the Baguio terminal of the tramway within the area, according to the plat, obtained for such terminal, and to sell therefrom such building material, lumber, and firewood as he may desire to carry in stock for that purpose. The exemption from taxation provided in subsection (c) hereof shall not apply to such lumber yard or to building materials, lumber, and firewood therein.
(e) Subject to the approval of the Director of Public Works, the grantee may abandon or remove said tramway men or any part thereof when, by reason of the completion and operation of the Baguio extension of the line of the Manila Railroad Company the tramway shall no longer be required for the carrying of general freight to the city of Baguio.
(f) The rate for hauling freight and express into and from the city of Baguio for others than the grantee shall be one-half centavo per kilo for freight and one centavo per kilo for express, subject however, to change, as may be fixed by the Board of Rate Regulation: Provided, That at any time the capacity of the tramway shall be overtaxed all freight and express for transportation presented by the Government shall have absolute preference.
(g) The grantee, his lessees, successors, or assigns shall be held liable in the sum of one hundred pesos each for every piece of mail, baggage, or express, and ten centavos each for every kilo of freight matter lost or Jam aged through mechanical fault in the tramway or any other cause whatsoever, except by act of God or the public enemy.
(h) The grantee shall be required to transport in either direction, by said tramway, at least one hundred metric tons of general freight and express per day of ten working hours each if offered: Provided, however, That if an amount of freight and express is offered in excess of one hundred metric tons per day, the grantee in that event, shall provide a special day and night service to be maintained until the necessity therefor shall cease.
(i) The grantee, his lessees, successors, and assigns shall be required to adjust all breakdowns of the tramway with the utmost possible dispatch. In the event of a breakdown for more than twenty-four hours, a penalty of fifty pesos per day shall be imposed if the breakdown occurs in the months of January, February, March, April, May, or June for each period of twenty-four hours that the breakdown shall continue, and a penalty of twenty-five pesos shall be imposed for each period of twenty-four hours if the breakdown occurs during the months of July, August, September, October, November, and December: Prodded, That the Director of Public Works may waive this penalty if he deems that the breakdown is of such a nature as to cause the remitting of the penalty to be just and equitable. The grantee, however, shall make every effort during the period of such breakdown to carry the freight and express then in his custody and such as may be presented for transportation during the period of such breakdown over the tramway or any other route, employing, if necessary, at his own expense, other means of transportation.
(j) The grantee shall hold the Government harmless from all claims, accounts, demands, or actions arising out cf accidents or injuries, whether to persons or property, caused by the construction or operation of the tramway.
Section 9. The grantee may refuse to transport any package or parcel suspected to contain goods of a dangerous nature, or whose transportation shall be prohibited by law.
Section 10. In consideration of the franchise hereby granted, one-quarter of one per centum of the gross receipts of the enterprise for the first two years, and two and one-half per centum of the gross receipts for the remaining period of the franchise shall be paid quarterly into the Insular Treasury in lieu of all Insular, provincial and municipal taxes on the franchise and the privileges granted hereunder, except taxes on real estate, and the sale of such lumber, building materials, and firewood as shall form the stock mentioned in paragraph (d), section eight hereof. Any penalties imposed in subsection (i) of section eight hereof shall be paid into the Insular Treasury in the same manner. The amount of gross receipts and penalties thus paid shall be distributed between the Insular Government, the subprovince of Benguet, and the city of Baguio, as provided by general law.
Section 11. Within ten days after the map or plan of the tramway furnished by the grantee is returned to him by the Director of Public Works finally approved, the grantee shall file with the Secretary of Commerce and Police his acceptance in writing of the franchise hereby granted, and at the same time shall deposit in the Insular Treasury the sum of two thousand pesos, or other negotiable securities of equal value approved by the Governor-General. Said deposit of two thousand pesos shall be made as a guaranty for the faithful performance of the obligations of the franchise: Provided, That if work on said tramway shall be commenced by the grantee within the time specified in section four hereof, said sum may be repaid to him as the work progresses in monthly installments in the proportion which the work clone bears to the whole project.
Section 12. The books and accounts of the grantee, his lessees, successors, or assigns, shall at all times be open to inspection and examination by the Insular Auditor, or his duly authorized representative, and when the tramway shall have been put into operation it shall be the duty of the grantee, his lessees, successors, or assigns to submit to the Insular Auditor, and to the Director of Public Works quarterly reports, in duplicate, showing the gross receipts and all expenditures for the account of the tramway as well such other data as may be required by the Insular Auditor, or the Director of Public Works, who shall keep the same on file.
Section 13. The grantee, his lessees, successors, and assigns are forbidden to issue stock or bonds under the franchise hereby granted except in exchange for actual cash or property at a valuation equal to the par value of the stock or bonds so issued. Neither shall said grantee or his successors declare any stock or bond dividends.
Section 14. The grantee herein may sell, lease, give, grant, convey, or assign the franchise hereby granted and all property and rights acquired thereunder to any person, company, or corporation competent to conduct the business authorized thereby but no title to the franchise or to the property or rights acquired thereunder shall pass by sale, lease, gift, grant, conveyance, transfer, or assignment to the vendee, donee, transferee, lessee, or be enjoyed by him until he shall have filed in the office of the Secretary of Commerce and Police an agreement in writing agreeing to comply with all the terms and conditions imposed on the grantee by the franchise and accepting the said franchise subject to all its existing terms and conditions.
Section 15. The franchise is hereby granted with the understanding and upon the condition that it shall be subject in all respects to the limitations upon corporations and the granting of franchises, contained in the Act of Congress approved July first, nineteen hundred and two, entitled "An Act temporarily to provide for the administration of the affairs of civil government in the Philippine Islands, and for other purposes."
Section 16. The Secretary of Commerce and Police on recommendation of the Director of Public Works, after hearing the grantee, shall have the power, with the approval of the Governor-General, to declare the forfeiture of the franchise for failure to comply with any of the terms and conditions thereof unless such failure shall have been directly or primarily caused by the act of God, the public enemy, or force majeure. Against such declaration of forfeiture the grantee may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for such relief as to him may seem proper, but if no such application is made within sixty days after the forfeiture has been declared by the Secretary of Commerce and Police, and approved by the Governor-General, the right to apply to the courts shall be considered waived.
Section 17. Whenever in the franchise the term "grantee" is used it shall be held and understood to mean and represent the said Herbert C. Heald, his representatives, successors, or assigns.
Section 18. This Act shall take effect on its passage.
Enacted, September 1, 1913.
The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation
